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[messengers] Unburdened by Gas Costs, Bike Couriers See a Chance
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Joe Hendry to messengers
show details 8:56 AM (12 hours ago)
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Unburdened by Gas Costs, Bike Couriers See a Chance
New York Times, September 2, 2008
By APRIL DEMBOSKY
New York City's bike messengers remain a fixture on the streets, having
weathered the advent of the fax machine and, of course, e-mail. Now, with
the cost of gas pummeling courier companies that rely on motorized vehicles,
a few enterprising cyclists are using the opportunity to generate more
business.
A small but growing number of pedal-powered messengers are outfitting their
bicycles and, in some cases, tricycles, with boxes and flatbeds on which
they can load hundreds of pounds of cargo.
"Eighty percent of the jobs done in a van I can do," said Hodari Depalm, the
owner of Checker Courier, a cargo messenger company in Manhattan that says
it can move up to 200 pounds of documents by bike. Mr. Depalm said his
two-man messenger business had increased by 20 percent within the last year.
Gregg Zukowski has had similar success. A couple of years ago, Mr. Zukowski,
the owner of Revolution Rickshaws, a fleet of pedicabs in Manhattan,
replaced the passenger seats on a few of his tricycles with flatbeds and
lockable cargo boxes capable of carrying up to 550 pounds of goods. He
started using the tricycles to make deliveries for bakeries and catering
companies and was even hired last month to help a man move into a
one-bedroom apartment.
"We've joked about doing funerals," Mr. Zukowski said. Mr. Zukowski's
business is catching on swiftly enough that he hopes to have as many as 30
of his tricycles on the road in the next 18 months.
The messengers can appeal to customers by charging less than couriers who
use cars or vans, and to their consciences by pointing out that they are not
hurting the environment.
Meanwhile, car and van couriers in New York City are struggling with
mounting fuel costs. Local companies are passing the cost of gas on to the
customer. Some apply a flat fuel surcharge, while others try to negotiate
delivery rates with each of their clients.
"Some clients refuse to pay a surcharge," said Charles F. Chiusano, vice
president of Avant Business Services in New York City and Connecticut. About
15 percent of Avant's business is with state and county agencies, whose
rates were established in contracts signed years ago. When fuel prices
soared, and agencies refused to alter their terms, the company had to cover
the extra costs or risk losing the contracts.
"If the contract goes out to bid, other companies are willing to underbid,
hoping things will get better," Mr. Chiusano said.
As much as courier companies feel the pinch, those hit hardest by fuel costs
are the drivers. Almost all car and van couriers are independent contractors
responsible for their own operating costs: gas, parking, vehicle payments
and insurance, health insurance and taxes. When gas prices rise and
customers like the city or state refuse to pay a fuel surcharge, the money
comes directly from the driver's pocket.
"It hurts," said Ken Moody, a courier from the Bronx who makes deliveries
for Breakaway Courier Systems in his Honda Fit. "Things have been very tight
for me lately."
Mr. Moody, 57, said he needed to make $1,000 a week to cover all of his
business and living expenses. That often requires working seven days a week.
But during the usually slower summer months, he has been earning only $600
to $700 a week.
"I'm here from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., but that doesn't mean I'm working the whole
time," he said as the movie "Alien 2" played on a DVD player behind him at
dispatch headquarters.
Mr. Chiusano said he negotiated better pay rates for his drivers with
fuel-efficient vehicles, and he tries to adjust delivery routes to be more
fuel efficient.
But other drivers have quit because of the tough economic circumstances.
Lucky Singh, a dispatcher for N.Y. Minute Messenger and Trucking in
Manhattan, said three drivers left the company in recent months to drive
taxis. Mr. Depalm said a few of his friends working as couriers sold their
vans and are now bike messengers.
Meanwhile, Mr. Depalm's cargo bike company is doing fine, he said. "The more
they keep raising gas prices, the better it is for me."
Mr. Zukowski has not only been getting more accounts for his delivery
services, he's also been making money by renting or selling the cargo
tricycles, which are manufactured in England, to local businesses. "Green
Apple Cleaners bought a work trike from us so they could move their dry
cleaning," he said. "The manager of Stuyvesant Town is interested in
purchasing a trike to move office supplies."
He said the director Wes Craven rented one to film a scene for his next
movie, and Nike borrowed one for a photo shoot.
"We're mobile and agile," Mr. Zukowski said, ticking off the tricycle's
selling points. "You never use gas or fuel, parking is never an issue, you
don't get tickets and maintenance is low."
Still, courier companies that rely on gas-powered vehicles say they expect
to remain in business for a long time. "Until someone figures out how to
transport things like they do on 'Star Trek,' I'll be fine," said Rick Katz,
a partner at LightSpeed Express Delivery Systems in Manhatta
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